Work guide for sewing machines



July 25, Q E. QYD WORK GUIDE FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Aug. 8, 1931INVENTOR Cac'b'l 217 03.42.

Y BY W wM/ A ORNEYS.

Patented July 25, 1933 Unrreo STATES PATENT @FHQE CECIL E. BOYD, 0FDETROIT, HIZCHIGAII,1A$$IGNOR TO THE MURRAY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, ACORPORATION OF DELIhYVAB'E WORK GUIDE FOR SEW'Il'TG MACHINES Applicationfiled August S,

My invention relates to improvements in sewing machines and moreparticularly to means for guiding the work to the needle when formingplaits or piping.

In preparing upholstery for use in automobile body interiors forexample, such as seats, seat backs and for any other upholsterypurposes, it is the practice to term iarallel rows of plaiting in theouter finishing upholstering material which may be of mohair, velour,linen, or other suitable tabric. This outer covering is sewed to asuitable backing material which is generally a plain muslin fabric, in acertain manner to form plaits. The finishing or outer upholstaringmaterial is generally stitched to this heavy backing material in anywell known manner such as piping to form elongated pockets to receivecotton batten or other suit able filler material. which is stuffed inthe pockets between the backing and finishing material, which pocketsare formed by plaiting the outer upholstering material as it is sewed tothe backing.

In the past the back or unfinished side of the upholstering material wasgenerally marked with parallel lines to indicate the line on which thebacking material was to be stitched to the outer finishing upholsterymaterial and other parallel lines were marked out 011 the backingmaterial. The operator then carefully sewed or stitched along the markealines to join the pieces together. The lines on the backing materialwere marked closer together than the lines on the back of the outerupholstery piece to allow for a plait and form an elongated pocket toreceive the cotton batten stufing material.

Ditficulty has been experienced in sewing this upholstery to the.backing to form these plaited pockets and the process has been slow onedue to the great care the operator must necessarily take to form eachplaited pocket of equal size and to maintain the plait-s in exactlyparallel lines, equally spaced from each other by accurately followingthe indicated markings when stitch ing.

My invention is directed to overcoming these difliculties and toproviding an imiasi. sen-.11 No. 555,962.

proved device to guide the work in forming plaits in such upholstermgand oming the backing material to the upholstery mater1al Y in exactlyparallel lines and'torming plaited pockets of exactly equalsize. V Thedevice of my invention insures a mechanically accurate and positiveguiding of the work and is of great advantage when the plaited pocketsare narrow due to the positive guiding of the work by my device whicheliminates, to a great extent, the care required by the 0pcrator institching the pieces together and eliminates inaccuracies in theoperation to more rapidly produce a better product.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved device for use inplaiting upholstery. 1

It is another object of my invention to provide a positive guide for thework stitched ona sewing machine to facilitate accurate forming oi"pleated pockets in upholstery of predetermined equal size.

it is another objector my invention' to provide an improved means for,handling,

the work in attaching backing material to the outer finishing materialwhen plaiting upholstery. i

It is a turtherobject of my invention to provide a guiding device forpositively formingparallel plaits when stitching finishing upholsterymaterial to a backing strip. i I y A still further object of myinvention is to provide an improved device for guiding material beingworked upon when forming plaited fabric, definitely determining thewidth of the plaits', which device may be readily attached to any typeof sewing machine, or sewing niachinew ork table.

ther objects and advantages will become apparent throughout a reading'ofthe 01 lowing detailed descriptionand accompanying drawing in whichFigure l'is a plan view of the device of my invention shown attached tothe top of asewing machine table.

Figure 2 is an enlarged end view of the device of my invention taken onthe line 22 of Figure 1. v V

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken on theline 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 IS an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 4i4 ofFigure 1 in-' dicating the manner in which the material being workedupon is positioned in my guide device, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a strip of the upholsteryshowing the manner in which it is attached to the backing to formplaited pockets.

Referring now to the drawing in detail in which like numerals designatelike parts throughout the se 'eral views, I have illustrated in Figure 1a sewing machine or other work table 7 which is arcuately cut out at 8to form a recess in which the operator sits. At the right hand side ofthe figure I have illustrated a sewing machine head 9 of any well knownconventional type which carries a stitching needle 10. The abovedescribed sewing table or work bench and sewing machine are ofconventional type and well known in the art.

The work guiding device of my invention is shown associated with thetable 7 and includes a supporting cross bar 11 which extends across thetop of the table as illustrated in Figure 1 and is supported at each ofits ends in any suitable manner such as attaching to the table or thefloor, this supporting means is not shown in the drawing. The cross bar11 is supported above the top of the table 7 a, suitable distance toallow the plaited upholstery material or finished work to passtherebeneath as will be hereinafter described.

A lid 12 is hinged to the cross bar 11 as illustrated in Figures 1 and20f the drawing by suitable hinges 13 and the lid 12 is olfset at 14 asbest shown in Figures 2 and 4 for a purpose which will hereinafter bedescribed. It will be noted. however. that the lid 12 lifts upwardly asillustrated in the dotted lines in Figure 2 and when dropped down theoffsetportion 14 engages one side edge of the bar 11 which acts as astop to maintain the lid in horizontal position over the work.

A horizontally disposed plate 16 which is of rectangular shape isdisposed below the lid 12 and supported above the top of the table 7 ina. suitable manner to clearthe top of the table a sufficient distance toallow a strip of fabric to pass therebeneatln The plate 16 is supportedby the sewing machine head 9 by an angle iron bracket 17 secured to theplate 16 byv suitable screws. The up wardly extending side ofthe-angular bracket 17 is secured to an arm 18 which is carried by thesewing machine, by suitable screws or other fastening devices.understood that the plate 16 may be sup ported above the table top inany other dcbe stitched to the backing 22 at It will be sired suitablemanner; the form I have shown in the drawing being preferable.

An elongated angularly shaped guide member 20 is fastened to the top ofthe plate 16 by suitable screws or other fastening devices and extendslengthwise of the plate 16 exactly parallel to the forward edge of thelid 12 and in close proximity thereto when the lid is lowered, the guide20 extending from one edge of the plate 16 to the other as shown in thedrawing. The device of my invention is so positioned relative to theneedle 10 of the sewing machine head 9 that the needle 10 will bereciprocated at a point a. slight distance inwardly of the forward edgeof the lid 12 which distance is equal to the width of the piping orstitched scam to be sewed in the material. The material is passed fromthe left hand side of the work table 7 toward the right hand side andfed directly to the needle 10 as shown in Figure 3. i

I have illustrated in Figure 5 one form of plaited upholstery which maybe formed with the improved device of my invention. In this figure isshown a strip of backing 'material 22 of muslin or any other suitablematerial having apiece of finishing upholstery material 23 such asvelour for example, having elongated parallel plaits formed by stitchingthe finishing upholstery material to the backing at 24 by folding backthe outer finishing material 23 and piping it along this line.

As shown in Figure 4, the work is passed through the device of myinvention by sliding the backing strip of muslin 22 on the surface ofthe work table 7 underneath the plate 16 and by passing the finishingvelour over the plate 16 and folding it back over the lid 23. As thematerial. is passed to the right toward the needle 10 the backing muslin22 and upholstery velour 28 will meet at the right hand edge of the lid12 and plate 16 which terminate at the sewing machine head 9 in closeproximity to the needle 10 thereof. The upholstery velour 23 will thispoint in a seam known as piping.

It will be noted in Figures 2 and 1 that a groove 25 is formed along thelower rear longitudinal. edge of the plate 16 and extends entirelyacross the plate exactly parallel to the forward edge of the lid 12 andto the guide'20. A tongue 26 is thus formed projecting beyond theshoulder 25 at the rear edge of the plate 16. The plaits made in sewingthe upholstering material to the backing must be of equal size, and itis the combination of the groove 25 with the plate 16 and lid 12 whichproduces this result in the following manner.

Assuming that the first piping sea-1n 24 has been formed whereby theupholstery velour 23 has been folded back upon itself as illustrated inFigure l and stitched to the back. ing 22 at 2 l, the operator thenplaces this piping scam in the groove 25 beneath the tongue of the plate16. The lid 12 lS'lD raised position as illustrated in dotted lines inFigure 2, to -facilitate-this operation. The upholstery velour 23 isthen passed from the groove around the tongue 26 and over the top of theplate 16 up to the guide 20. hc operator then presses the upholsteryvelour down on to the plate 16 by dropping the lid 12 downwardlythereupon. The upholstery velour is thereby held flat between the lid 12and the top of the'plate 16 although slidable therebctween. Theupholsteiywelour 23 is then folded back over the front edge of the plate12 as illustrated in Figure el. The backing muslin 22 extends across thetop of the table from the piping seam 24: under the plate 16. Thedistance from the inner edge of the groove 25 around the tongue 26 tothe front edge oi the lid 12 will constitute the required length of theupholstery velour necessary to make the proper size plaits tor formingthe pocket. The backing material 22, it will be noted, remains flat uponthe top of the table and is therefore of a proportionately shorterlength between the piping seam 2st and the point where the next seamwill be stitched by the needle 10 and tnis distance is the length of thestraight line along the top of the table 7 from the groove 25 to thepoint at which the needle 10 will form the next piping seam. Thedistance between the front edge of the lid 12 and the groove 25 aroundthe tongue 26 of the plate 16 will be of any predetermined greaterlength than the backing strip and thus the width of the plait isdetermined. As the material, is stitched it will be fed toward theneedlelO in a line exactly parallel to the groove 25 within which thepiping seam 2% will slide and also the edge of the tongue 26, i rontedge of the lid 12and the guiding member 20. A second piping seam willthus be formed exactly parallel to the one first ftn'med and as each newplait is formed they will all be of equal size and width. The materialis stitched together as is illustrated in Figure 3, with the top velourfolded back upon itself and the stitch thus extending through twothicknesses of velour and one oi themuslin backing.

The ollset portion l l of the lid 12 assists in retaining the materialin position when the lid is down as shown in Figure l, by enclosing theseam 2 of the work slidably within the groove 25 or the plate 16.

The use of the device of my invention eliminates the formerly requiredstep of marking the material. No patterns need be outlined upon thesurface of the backing ma terial or the back of the upholstery finishingstrip and the work is fed to the sewing machine needle in exactalignment therewith so'that the seams will always be exactly paralleland due to'the mechanical guide for folding and-retaining the materialin position as it is stitched, the plaits will a lwaysbeoi": equal sizeand perfectly formed. As each plait is formed the operator will raisethe lid 12, slide the material rearwardly under the cross bar 11,position the newly formed piping seam 2 l under the tongue 26 and withinthe groove 25 and again drop the lid 12 to slidably clamp the materialin position whereupon the next seam may be quickly'and readily formed.

FOI'llltll changes may bema-de in the specifio embodiment of theinvention described without departing from the spirit and substances ofthe broad invention, the scope ofwhich is commensurate with the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a'plait forming and work guiding devic adapted for use with sewingmachines, the combination of a guide plate, a

seam receiving groove extending along one side edge of the plate, and ahinged lid associated with said plate and positioned thereover, theforward edge of said lid being parallel to the seam receiving groove ofthe guide plate.

2. In a plait forming and work guiding device adapted for use withsewing machincs, the combination of a guide plate, a seam receivinggroove extending along the lower rear edge of said guide plate, and ahinged lid extending over said plate and associated therewith to enclosea portion of the work between the plate and lid, said lid having anoffset portion adapted to be asso ciated with the seam receiving grooveof theguide plate to enclose the seam of the work therein.

3. in a plait forming and work guiding 1 L p '1 device adapted ror usewith sewmg machines, the combination of a guide plate, a 3

seam receivinggroove extending along the lower rear edge of said u1ideplate, and a a lid associated with said plate one edge of which isparallel to the groove of the plate, and a guide member on said plateextending parallel to said lid and in close prox1m1ty thereto.

5, In a plait forming and work guiding device adapted to be associatedwith a sewing machine the combination of a guide plate, a seam receivinggroove in said plate, a lid associated vith said plate one edge of whichis parallel to the groove of the plate, said lid also having an offsetportion disposed in cooperating relation with the seam receiving grooveof the plate, and a guide member on said plate extending parallel tosaid lid and in close proximity thereto.

G. In a plait. forming and work guiding device adapted to be associatedwith a sewing machine in stitching upholstering cover material to abacking piece in plaits, a work table, a guide plate, means to supportsaid plate over the top of said table in spaced relation thereto, a seamreceiving groove in the lower edge of said plate, the backing piece ofmaterial being receivable between the table top and guide plate and thecover material receivable over the top of the plate with the seambetween the backing and covering receivable in said groove, and a lidadapted to lie over the top of the guide plate in spaced relationthereto to allow sliding of the covering material, the front edge oisaid lid being parallel to the groove in the plate.

7. In a plait forming and work guiding device adapted to be associated.u'ltll a sewing machine in stitching upholstering cover material to abacking piece in plaits, a work table, a guide plate, means to supportsaid plate over the top of said table in spaced relation thereto, a seamreceiving groove in the lower edge of said plate, the backing piece ofmaterial being receivable between the tabletop and guide plate and thecover material receivable over the top of the plate with the seambetween the backing and covering receivable in said groove, and .a lidcooperatively hinged to said guide plate to enclose and maintain thecovering material in position throughout the stitching operation.

8. In a guide device adapted for use with a sewing machine having a worksupporting table, an elongated guide plate horizontally disposed oversaid table and spaced therefrom, a seam receiving groove extending alongone edge of said plate, a guide member carried by said plate parallel tosaid seam receiving groove, and a hinged lid supported above the worktable and guide plate in spaced relation therefrom and said hinged lidbeing rotatable to a horizontal position superposed above said guideplate, said lid having a projection extending along its hinged edgeparallel to the groove of the plate.

9. A work guide adapted for use with a sewing machine, in stitchingupholstery cover material to a "backing strip in plaits including amember disposed between the covering and backing materials and a lidhinged to said member adapted to be closed over said member to slidablyretain aportion of the work in position during the stitching operation.

10. A work guide adapted for use with a sewing machine in stitchingupholstery cover material to a backing strip in plaits by a piping seam,including a member dis-,

posed between the covering and backing materials, a groove along oneedge of said member for receiving the piping seam and a lid adapted tobe closed over said member to slidably retain a'portion. of the work inposition during the stitching operation, the edge of said lid beingparallel to the seam receiving groove.

11. A work guide adapted for use with a sewing machine in stitchingupholstery cover material to a backing strip in'plaits by a piping seam,including a member disposed between the covering and backing materials,a groove along one edge of said member for receiving the piping seam, alid adapted to be closed over said member to slidably retain a portionof the work in position during the stitching operation, the edge of saidlid being parallel to the seam receiving groove, and a guide carried bysaid member, parallel to the edge of the lid and groove to insureparallel seams.

12. In a plait forming and work guiding device adapted for use with asewing machine for sewing a material to be plaited to a backingmaterial, means for determining the width of the plaits to be formed,including a member adapted to be disposed between the material to beplaited and the backing material and a lid adapted to be disposed oversaid member to retain the material in proper relation thereto during thesewing operation.

13. A work guide adapted for use with a sewing machine in stitchingupholstery cover material to a backing strip in. plaits, including amember disposed between the covering and backing materials and a lidadapted to be closed over said member to slidably retain a portion ofthe work in position during the stitching operation.

CECIL E. BOYD.

